A First Date
by The Sky Pirate
Summary: [RyoSaku] Ryoma and Sakuno are both 17. Now being a rich and famous tennis player, Ryoma decides to invite Sakuno on a date. Can Ryoma battle off his father and save his pride?
1. Part I

A/N: You don't want to know where I got the idea for this story from. In fact, I don't even know where I got the idea here from. I'm afraid some parts might be OOC for some but since this takes place five years after the series, I usually think that some of the characters can change yet keep a part of their original personality. Well, anyways, both Ryoma, Sakuno, Tomoka and etc. are now 17 years old. Yay! Ryoma is also a famous tennis player and has become a rich little brat (as we all know he deserves to be ^_^ muaha!)  
  
Enjoy! =)  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ The metal was cool and soothing under her touch. They were earrings. Both were made of silver and reflected the light dazzlingly. She loved them. They were styled and made to look like the crescent moon and she adored the way that they would dangle under her ears and tickle the soft spot underneath her lobe when she moved.  
  
Sakuno breathed a sigh while looking in the mirror. What if her dress had certain hidden problems? She had spent hours picking through stores and looking at different dresses. After all, Ryoma told her to dress up more formally. She twirled in front of the looking glass and posed. She walked normally in a straight line while looking at herself. The dress swirled around her ankles like black water. Perfect. She pretended to be drinking a glass of wine. Everything was fine there. She moved around a bit to make sure that her dress wouldn't reveal anything while she was dancing. The last thing she wanted was an embarrassment tonight. When Sakuno was finally satisfied, she breathed a sigh of relief.  
  
She had to look absolutely perfect for him tonight. She had promised herself not to be the normal klutz she was and that she would act like an elegant young lady. After all, five years had passed since she met Ryoma. She shouldn't be acting so uptight and nervous around him anymore.  
  
She bent down to put on her high sandals and let out a soft gasp when she happened to look at the mirror. The chest part of her dress gaped open when she bent down. Not enough to reveal anything but enough to show a part of her bra. Blushing furiously while wondering what would have happened if she hadn't known this, she made a mental note not to bend down at all. All she could do was hope that she could remember. . .  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Ryoma frowned as he took the bottle of cologne his father passed to him. Nanjiroh had described it as the "babe magnet". Mustering all the courage his princely self could give, he opened the bottle and smelled it. He also gagged.  
  
"Oh God!" Ryoma spluttered out while chucking the bottle into the trash, "Nasty!"  
  
He really didn't know what girls liked since he had never really dated before. In fact, he would rather die than tell anyone that this was his first date. He mused about how he would approach Sakuno tonight.  
  
"Hi, you look good tonight, Sakuno!" he tried practicing to the mirror with his trademark smirk. He slapped his forehead. No one would actually believe him if he said that.  
  
He sighed. He would just have to turn to his last resource. He was really hoping not to have to use it but he really didn't have any experience with the opposite sex (or species since girls seemed like aliens from Venus to him).  
  
"Oyaji!" he cried loudly, "Get up here! I need some help!"  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Tomoka blasted her way through Sakuno's bedroom door with a huge grin on her face. She immediately pounced on her friend and began purring loudly while pinching Sakuno's cheeks despite her protests.  
  
"Oooooh! My little Sakuno is finally going on her first date!" Tomoka squealed loudly while bouncing up and down, "I'm so happy for you! Mou, with Ryoma-sama too! You sure reeled in a big one with your charm and good looks!"  
  
"Y-You don't need to say it like that, Tomo-chan!" Sakuno replied while her cheeks turned red because of Tomoka's fierce pinching (or maybe because. . .), "He probably didn't mean it as boyfriend girlfriend when he asked me to go out. It's probably just friend to friend. ^_^;;"  
  
"Nonsense!" giggled Tomoka while pushing Sakuno to the dressing table, "Mmm. . . let's do something about that hair shall we? You can't be serious if you're still going with that schoolgirl braids look. . .we need to make you look your age, 17, not 12. I'm going to make you into a sexy lady! Muahahahahhah! (a/n: What's she planning? Oh no! Sakuno, run for your liiiife!!!!)"  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Ryoma's eyebrow twitched when his father finally finished his long speech about safe sex. He secretly mourned for his virgin ears. He didn't even remember mentioning or asking his father about "that". His father watched Ryoma as the prince gagged once again.  
  
"Oi, shounen," he said in an annoyed voice, "you'll never get anywhere if you act like an immature brat like that. People will have to use *lemons* in order to get you anywhere."  
  
"What's a lemon?" Ryoma asked cluelessly while his father slapped his forehead, "Anyways, now that you've practically destroyed my purity, can you please teach me something more, well, innocent?"  
  
"What do you mean?" his father asked in a puzzled voice, "wasn't that innocent enough for you?"  
  
"I'll just do it my own way then," Ryoma sighed, "You might be good at tennis, Oyaji, but in romance, you're pretty much. . . Mada Mada Dane."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Sakuno touched the pile of dead hair on the floor. Tomoka had taken out her braids and had brushed her hair thoroughly, pulling out the dead and stringy ones. Sakuno never knew that her hair could be so soft and silky as she never had time to brush it. It was partly the reason why she left it up all the time so that it wouldn't seem so messy. After thanking Tomoka many times, Sakuno looked at the clock. It was almost eight o'clock. Ryoma would be coming soon.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Ryoma pulled up at Sakuno's driveway ten minutes late. He cursed under his breath as he turned off the engine to his new car. It was a BMW Z4 Roadster. He had bought it not too long ago. It still had that new car smell. He had really liked how it looked so sporty. He had chosen the silver colour, his favourite. He hoped Sakuno wouldn't mind the smell but then again, Sakuno wasn't really a whiny girl. She was always seen as a klutzy fool but Ryoma knew that deep inside she had a certain strength, a certain special thing that made her much more different than other girls.  
  
He picked up the dozen blue roses he left next to him. They were the reason why he had come so late. He had tried to buy some at a number of florist shops but most had been out of stock. He examined them and made sure that none of the flowers had died on the way or had a bug hiding in it. He knew Sakuno was terrified of bugs. Not in the sort of way that made her go screaming when she saw one. Sakuno would probably turn pale, close her eyes and wait for the moment to pass.  
  
Stepping onto her front porch, Ryoma took a deep breath. He tried to relax his fingers that had clenched around the bouquet of roses. Mentally slapping himself, Ryoma mustered his courage and reached out his hand. The prince's golden eyes's pupils began to dilate and contract in a pulsing motion as he thought of Sakuno. Blinking and shaking himself out of his dream, Ryoma pushed the doorbell. He listened as muffled footsteps hesitated and walked down a hall. Suddenly, they stopped for a brief moment and started up again. He heard the door click and swing open. His heart completely stopped. 


	2. Part II

Sakuno sat on her bed and tried to calm herself down before the date. Ryoma was ten minutes late. She knew he wasn't the kind to be late. Never. What if he forgot about her like the time he had forgotten who she was? It could be that he was seeing someone else. Sakuno shook her head to clear her mind from bad thoughts. She tried as hard as she could to remain emotionally buoyant. Maybe he had gotten lost on the way to her house. . .?  
  
"Ah!" she exclaimed suddenly, "What if I gave him the wrong directions?!"  
  
As if on cue, the doorbell rang at that very instant. Sakuno ran to the door but stopped herself in the middle of the hall. She remembered that Tomoka had told her never to look too excited or eager in front of a boy so she stopped to take a few breaths. When she couldn't contain her excitement anymore, she threw a quick glance at the mirror, smoothed down her dress and answered the door.  
  
"WelcometotheRyuzakiResidence!!!!" she managed to squeak out too loudly while swinging open the door.  
  
Ryoma looked at her with a surprised face. A strand of loose hair had fallen across his forehead and it took all of Sakuno's will to stop herself from brushing it away. The prince quickly regained his composure and tucked the hair behind his ear. Smirking, he mentioned something about how good she looked. Sakuno didn't hear anyways. Her head was buzzing and her legs felt like water. It felt like she would faint any second.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
She looked stunning. She really did.  
  
Ryoma stared at Sakuno, stupefied. She didn't seem to look at all like the little child with braids and flower pins from his childhood memories but more like a lady. He suddenly became very aware about how he was a boy and how Sakuno was a girl. Too aware. Forcing himself to calm down, he greeted and complemented her. Suddenly, Ryoma remembered the blue roses he had clenched in his fist.  
  
"H-Here," he said while holding the bouquet in front of her, "These roses are for you."  
  
Ryoma barely stopped himself from rolling his eyes when he saw Sakuno's eyes become watery as she thanked him. Leave it to a girl to make a mountain out of a mole hill. He would probably never understand girls. All he wanted now was to spend time with Sakuno. She told him to wait inside the hallway while she went to put the flowers in a vase. Looking around, Ryoma noted that Sakuno's house was exactly how he pictured it. The colours of the furniture and walls were creamy and soft. He noted on how she had paintings of flowers hung up on the walls and how she had unfinished paintings leaning on the opposite wall.  
  
"So she likes painting," Ryoma mused as he put that fact away for later use. Maybe he should have gotten her daisies as they seemed to remind him of that flower pin she would always wear. He sighed and wished that he had thought of that instead of blue roses.  
  
"Ready to go?" he asked as Sakuno walked into the hall.  
  
She nodded. In a silent procession, they went to his car. Ryoma wondered if many words would be exchanged between them tonight. So far, not much had been said. Shutting his eyes and taking a deep breath before entering the car, Ryoma hoped that he wouldn't mess up this date like he most probably would. 


	3. Part III

This idea randomly came to me while I was watching Naruto. My cousin thought I had gone crazy because I was laughing extremely hard while watching Gaara drooling and trying to literally eat Sasuke. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Silence. That's all he could hear. The car drove on without a sound.  
  
"Stupid shounen," said Nanjiroh in a bored voice while scratching his head. He yawned and played around with his monk outfit, waiting to hear something exciting. Nothing. Not even a coo or giggle. Suddenly the car hit a bump and Nanjiroh managed to bonk his head extremely hard on the roof of the trunk. Yes. He was in the trunk. The world's greatest tennis player had sunken so low that he would hide in his son's car and spy on him.  
  
Nanjiroh pressed his ear closer to the radio-like machine. Nothing but faint buzzing. Oh well, he could wait a bit longer. He began to think of foolproof plan to spy on his son. He had planted a baby monitor up front where the boy wouldn't be able to see it. It was the kind that Nanjiroh had used when Ryoma was but a little child. He left one up in Ryoma's room and would read his porn magazines with the other one downstairs. The baby monitor upstairs would pass the sounds coming from Ryoma's room, down to Nanjiroh's monitor.  
  
Since he had managed to plant one of them up front, he should be able to hear everything that happened in the car. Foolproof. Well, it would have been if he had put the recording monitor up front and hearing one next to him. Unfortunately for him, he had switched them around.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Neh, Ryoma-kun," said Sakuno shyly with hesitation, "did you say something?"  
  
Eyes focused on the road, the prince shook his head.  
  
"Anou, I keep hearing things coming from your glove compartment. . ." she mumbled.  
  
Suddenly, the sound came again. This time it was a muffled sound that seemed to sound like, "baka. . .". Ryoma heard this too and opened the glove compartment. It was a baby monitor that said, "ECHIZEN" in big bold letters. Turning slightly pink, the boy closed the compartment and took the steering wheel again.  
  
"Hold on a minute," he said while he turned into a parking lot. It was practically deserted there. The prince eyed a speed bump on the road and grinned maliciously. He drove the car over it and a muffled cry came from the trunk. Once again, he backed out and ran over the bump again. Sakuno had turned pale and was clutching her seat belt with all her strength. She heard a dull thump from the back followed by a muffled "dammit!".  
  
"He's in the trunk," sighed Ryoma exasperatedly while turning off the engine.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Nanjiroh rubbed his head.  
  
"Does that idiot know how to drive? He'll get all three of us killed," he thought while grabbing the monitor again. Suddenly, the trunk opened and a wave of fresh air hit him. Before the monk could let out a sigh of relief, he noted two faces. One was the terrified face of a cute girl on the verge of fainting and the other was. . .the furious face of a cat ready to kill.  
  
"Look, it's a distraction!" screamed Nanjiroh while pointing at the sky. He quickly made his escape while the two stared at the stars.  
  
Ryoma groaned when he saw his father escaped. He couldn't believe that he had fallen for that. Maybe the presence of Sakuno was making him a bit jumpy.  
  
"Who was that?" asked Sakuno while biting her lip and watching Ryoma close the trunk.  
  
"You don't want to know," he replied simply before opening the door for her. He hoped his father wouldn't come and bother them again.  
  
"Never trust an old man," he thought while starting up the car.  
  
Baka oyaji. 


	4. Part IV

A/N: whew, about time I updated. =_= The end of school is coming up so I'm mostly slacking off now =). I had inspiration too. *evil grin* ok, let's make Ryoma's night an embarrassing hell.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Sakuno sat silently in her seat, staring out the window. The atmosphere in the car seemed to have thickened, making it practically unbearable to breathe. Ryoma had been gripping the steering wheel tightly and glued his lips shut since that strange man came out of the trunk of the car. Actually, it wasn't as if they were talking before to begin with. The girl shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Seconds began to stretch out into intolerable minutes. She was going to go mad soon.  
  
Ryoma fixed his eyes on the road. A few mutterings of "baka oyaji" and "embarrassing" could be caught escaping from his lips if one listened extremely carefully. He swallowed. Was Sakuno mad at him? She sure seemed miffed when she stared out the window like that. Perhaps he should apologize?  
  
"What did I do? Why do I have to apologize," complained his inner child (a/n: hahha! Ryoma's inner child! W00t!).  
  
"Your dad kind of freaked her out...she seemed kinda scared..." argued back a part of his brain.  
  
"Who wouldn't be? Hell, sometimes I'm afraid of that baka oyaji."  
  
"Still..."  
  
"She's mad at me anyways and it's not my fault! She'll hate me if I say anything now!"  
  
"Sakuno wouldn't do that..."  
  
"Are you willing to bet your life on it?"  
  
"Well, just tell her the truth."  
  
"Yeah right! My reputation will be soiled if she knows that THAT GUY is my dad..."  
  
"She'll meet your parents anyways when you both get married."  
  
"Married?!"  
  
"Well, where else are you planning to go with this?"  
  
"Just shut up." "Mada mada dane."  
  
After physically slapping himself a few times, Ryoma concentrated on the road again. Did he really want to get married to Sakuno? He always imagined himself to be the singles tennis player bachelor. He had to admit that to settle down with a family wouldn't be half bad. And Sakuno- Ryoma let out a not-so-quiet chuckle. Echizen Sakuno.  
  
The petite girl sitting next to him apparently heard his laughter. She stared at him for a while before she caught his eye. Eye contact lasted for a few excruciating seconds before Ryoma tore his gaze away to look at the road once more. That shut him up.  
  
More minutes passed by and Ryoma began to wonder exactly how far the restaurant was. He was sure to make reservations a few days ahead at "Rose de Verre" (a/n: it means Glass Rose. -_- I know it's a lame name. I need to practice my French vocab. before Mme Pignard *whip motion*- whipssh!). The young prince paused. His mouth had suddenly gone dry.  
  
"Damn it not now!" he thought angrily.  
  
He cast a glance at Sakuno. She still seemed quite peeved. He sighed.  
  
"I need...to clear...my throat..." he thought as he felt something like a ball of dead air build up in his throat.  
  
"If I do clear my throat, she's going to think I have something to say but if I don't say anything, she'll assume I'm implying something. Thus, creating more awkwardness."  
  
"But I REALLY have to clear my throat!"  
  
"Just think about something else."  
  
Try as he might, Ryoma's mind focused on his uncleared throat, making the boy want to clear it more than ever.  
  
"Decisions, decisions," he thought moodily after calming down a bit, "why must my life be so complicated? I'm arguing with myself on whether or not I'm going to clear my throat..."  
  
Was it getting hot in the car or something? The young man fiddled with the air conditioning but nothing seemed to cool his searing flesh.  
  
Cheh. Why do bad things always have to happen to me? 


	5. Part V

A/N: plays dramatic music At last, Saeka has arisen from the dead once more! Sorry for not updating for some time. I completely forgot about completing my fics. oo; dodges shoes flying at her I'm sorry! Here's the long-awaited chapter. Just please don't kill me.

_-_

_Just a cough. Just a little short quiet cough._

Echizen Ryoma was in quite a fix.

_I'll just clear my throat and keep my eyes on the road. That's all there is to it. _

He is currently debating on whether or not to clear his throat in front of his girlfriend.

"A-anou..." Sakuno said lightly in an attempt to break the silence. "I haven't seen you in quite some time, Ryoma-kun. What have you been doing in the past few years?"

"Betsuni," he rasped out before giving a short cough. "Betsuni.."

Silence ensued once more. The petite girl gave a quiet sigh and turned towards the window, immediately stabbing an imaginary dagger into Ryoma's confidence, causing it to deflate and shrivel up like a dead prune. He certainly felt like smacking himself right now.

_His car smells really new. He must be really rich now since he must have been playing in so many tournaments. It makes me feel weird that I'm such a plain person going out with a really famous tennis player._

The car suddenly came to a stop. Ryoma popped open his door briskly and stepped outside. He walked over to Sakuno's side and opened hers.

"We're here. There are a lot of cars up front so we'll have to park farther away and walk up to the restaurant," he said as he held her arm to help her out. He held it firmly not like as if it were fragile glass. He had a warm hand, she noted. Not sweaty or dry but just _right_. It felt very right.

"Arigatou," she said happily while wrapping her scarf more tightly around herself. Maybe she should not have worn a strap dress. It was too cold. After all, it was winter. Ryoma eyed the shivering girl for a moment giving her his coat.

"Here," he tried to say as coolly as possible. "Make sure to give it back to me once we get inside."

"Ariga-"

"- stop thanking me. You make it seem like it's a huge favour. If you're cold, I'll give you my coat. It's what I'd do."

He added a small smirk afterwards to make sure that she knew he did not mean for that to hurt her feelings. Sakuno nodded before donning his coat.

"But won't you get cold?" she inquired innocently. "I'd feel bad if you get sick. And, besides, it's snowing." She offered him her scarf.

"No, it's fine," Ryoma answered as he took her scarf for her. He saw her lip turn downwards in guilt for a minute. Finally, he sighed and wrapped the scarf loosely around his neck.

"I'm taking it off right before we go in though. I don't want everyone to think that I'm wearing a female scarf because I'm weird," he said in his defense. He frowned and turned away. "What are you laughing at?"

"B-because you haven't changed one bit in five years!" giggled Sakuno nonstop while holding her sides. "G-gomen. I didn't mean for that to offend you. It's just that when you frowned, it reminded me of the first time I met you on the subway."

"How is that?" asked Ryoma, interested. He wondered how Sakuno could have noticed him when he had not even known who she was.

"Well, you were constantly frowning as if something always bothered you," said Sakuno cheerfully. "At first I thought it was because you didn't like me but then I figured that it might have been that you were nice in your own sort of way."

She bent down slightly and scooped up some snow from the ground. Packing it into a snowball, she smiled to herself.

"I really liked you back then," she said. "Especially after...that incident..."

-

"_Aiie, it's cold.."_

"_It's ice. It's supposed to be cold."_

"_This is really hard to do.."_

"_Keep your ankles up and steady. Bend your knees a bit."_

"_Ah!"_

_-_

Sakuno quickly snapped out of her thoughts.

"Well, I think we should be going now. You might catch a cold if we stay out too long," she said quickly. Ryoma was slightly miffed that she did not continue her story.

"Sou, I guess we should be.." He took her hand in his and they slowly headed off.

-


	6. Part VI

A/N: Wow, it's been a long time since I last touched on fanfiction. Looking back on my writings as an overly imaginative kid, I can't help but wonder about my writing. I pretty much stopped creative writing once I stopped doing fanfiction because I never had time for it anymore. Well, here I am again at the website that used to be my younger self's home on the internet. The funny part is that no matter how long I leave this place, review e-mails just keep piling up on me, reminding me that there are probably some people who are waiting for me to finish my stories. So I guess I'm here again as a sixteen year-old this time to finish what my fourteen year-old self started.

What have I been up to all this time? Literate roleplaying on the boards of Gaia Online. Let's hope I've improved.

- - - - - - - - - -

"Echizen?" echoed the maitre d' while lightly running a tapered finger along a list of scrawled surnames. "Hm."

Sakuno's eyes drifted across the restaurant. A delicious scent wafted from the kitchens, and the warmth was certainly more welcoming than the biting cold outside. She glanced at Ryoma as he looked on impassively at the maitre d' who was now mumbling and trying to fish out "Echizen" from the never-ending list of reservations. His eyes were always a deep amber colour that seemed to draw her in. She often found herself incapable of holding his powerful stare for more than a quick moment, but now that he wasn't facing her, she had all the time to carefully observe the face of the boy who had long ago captured her heart.

"What is it?" he said, feeling her gaze on his face. Ryoma turned to face Sakuno who was hanging loosely onto his arm. "Something bothering you?"

A delightful shade of red quickly blossomed on her face. She immediately dropped her gaze to the ground, flushing.

"It's nothing," she said shyly, looking up again quickly with her chocolate eyes. She cleared her throat nervously and gave a quick smile before turning away once more.

Ryoma could only feel heat rushing up to his face, but he only smiled to himself, knowing that Sakuno would not be able to see him.

"Hrmmph," uttered the tight-lipped maitre d', unsure if he was disturbing something. "Ah, yes. Here's Echizen. I'm sorry for the wait. Right this way to your table."

The maitre d' gracefully pulled out two menus and proceeded to walk down towards a table, pulling out a chair for Sakuno. The couple was seated promptly.

"Asuma here will be serving you tonight," said the maitre d', motioning over a slim young man that was not much older than Ryoma. "If there's anything else that you need, please feel free to let me know."

- - - - - - - - - -

"Kinda short for his age, right?" said a certain dark-haired waiter excitedly. "Black hair? Cat-like eyes?"

Asuma nodded, grinning ear to ear.

"He's got a girlfriend here too," added Asuma carefully, enjoying the ecstatic look on the other waiter's face. Odd, how happy this little detail seemed to make him. "Cute little thing. Brown hair, brown eyes. Do you happen to know these people or something, Momoshiro? Eh… – Aah!"

Asuma quickly stepped back, trying to avoid the other waiter's wild gesticulations.

"Echizen!" cried Momoshiro, tears flowing generously down his cheeks. "You have grown! A girlfriend? A date? Our little ochibi is growing up so fast!"

- - - - - - - - -

"Here we are," said Asuma smoothly, presenting two drinks before Ryoma and Sakuno. "One Shirley Temple for the lady, and a…Ponta for the gentleman. I'll be back with your appetizers shortly."

With that, Asuma briskly glided away like an elegant magician. Once he was gone, Sakuno gave a glance at Ryoma, catching his gaze. She gave a quiet giggle, almost embarrassed.

"What?" said Ryoma, ever puzzled at the girl's actions.

"A-ah. Sorry," she said, trying not to smile. "It's just that you're still drinking Ponta. I would have thought that you would have started drinking something else, having been in the U.S. for so long."

"Oh," said Ryoma, faltering.

_I must be boring him to death_, thought Sakuno, near tears as she stared into her crimson drink. _This is completely hopeless. I'm such a bland person. By now, he must be wondering why he even wastes his time talking to me. I'm so stupid! Stupid, stupid, stupid!_

An uncomfortable silence loomed over the two. Sakuno remained unusually intent on staring into her drink as though in hopes of being able to see into the future. Sensing her discomfort, Ryoma coughed and piped up once more.

"Ponta was probably one of the things I missed the most from Japan, I guess," he spoke softly, looking at her in hopes that she would raise her eyes and look back at him. "Among many other things…"

The prince pinched his lips together and looked away, pretending to be extremely interested in the slow chewing of a withered old man sitting across the room. He was never very good at expressing himself or even getting others to like him. It had just always come so naturally to him. He never needed to try, and he had plenty of girls that would swoon at the chance to be with him, but the only one that he wanted was the only one that he always felt that he disappointed.

_What is there to say?_, he mused while glancing back quickly at the brown-haired girl seated directly across from him. The candle's flame flickered slightly, casting a warm glow on the girl. _Candle light certainly becomes her but, then again, so does everything. What does she want me to say anyways? Girls are so difficult._

More silence. Appetizers came and went without a single word leaving their lips.

- - - - - - - - -

Nearby, concealed within the potted plants that lined the walls, Momoshiro was seething with anger.

"Wh-wh-what is this?" he said, indicating madly at table number fourteen. "They aren't even looking at each other! Look at that! Look! How can he treat a girl like that? He's not even saying anything to her, and she looks like she's just about to cry. What is wrong with that kid? Didn't I teach him anything the first time he went out on a date with her? Goddamn!"

"Calm down, Momo," said Asuma, peering out from the bushes with his loud-mouthed friends. "You want to lose your job? Hmm, looks to me like they're doing perfectly fine."

"Fine?" said Momo, near hysterics. "You call that fine? They've barely even open their mouths to talk to each other. They're having more interaction with their food than with each other."

"Sure," drawled on Asuma in a completely bored voice. "I don't understand why you're so interested in those two. Well, maybe all they need is a little bit of an...inciting force, let us say."

"Asuma, you're a genius!" let out Momoshiro suddenly, grabbing the horrified waiter by the collar. A few annoyed patrons looked up, miffed at the ruckus that Momo was creating.

"Leggo!" hissed Asuma, trying to wrench himself from Momoshiro's death-like grip. "What the hell do you mean 'genius'? And what the hell has gotten into you? I can't talk now. Table seventeen needs more ice water. Let go!"

"Asuma, I need a favour," coaxed Momo with a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Surely a handsome student actor with such great skills like yourself would have no problem with this simple little task."

"Oh?" said Asuma, immediately relaxing and obviously intrigued. "And what is this simple little task?"

- - - - - - - - -

"And here I am with your main courses," said Asuma, quickly whisking away the dishes from the table. "Mmhm, here's a sirloin for the gentleman, and a spaghetti for the lady."

Sakuno gazed at the checkered red and white tablecloth, picking nervously at her napkin. Ryoma still hadn't said a word since they had been seated. Was her Ponta comment really that out of line? Ryoma, in turn, was completely baffled by Sakuno, unsure of what to say and unwilling to try anything that could embarrass him.

"Let me help you with that, Miss," said Asuma seductively, draping a napkin around her shoulders. He seemed so unnecessarily close that it seemed more as though he was embracing her from behind. Sakuno let out a quick gasp and raised her head up when she felt his touch against her bare shoulders, catching Ryoma's shocked and then displeased look. Pink swept over her face.

"A-anou…" she said uncomfortably at the waiter's questionable motives.

"Oh, I see. On the lap, then?" whispered Asuma close to her ear, moving down and leaving the napkin there, lightly brushing against her arm. A smirk graced his lips. "Is that better, my dear?"

Ryoma was now clearly scowling and entertaining ideas of how much pretty-boy Asuma would be smirking after being run through by a hundred knives. If he had caught Asuma's "score!" motion as the waiter walked away, there would have been steam coming out of his ears and fire coming out of his nostrils.

_That waiter_, he told himself while his angry stare bore into the back of the waiter who was now walking away. _That waiter is a dead man_.


End file.
